Protective garment

ABSTRACT

The invention pertains to an outer garment for protection against chemical and biological exposures. The garment comprises a membrane and absorbent ply and several throughgoing vents, which pass through all plies. The vents are equipped with separate closing devices for each ply and/or combination of plies, the vents are at least arranged in an upper and a lower portion of the outer garment, that the outer garment consists of at least two separate parts. The invention also pertains use of such a garment.

The present invention relates to an outer garment for protection againstchemical and biological exposure and uses of such an outer garment.

Protection against chemical and biological exposure will always be atopic of great interest to military personnel, but also to anever-increasing extent to those in civilian life.

A number of solutions exist for protection against chemical andbiological exposure, usually based on the use of either a membrane or anabsorbent protective layer.

In order to achieve adequate protection, a protective system based onmembrane must be completely impermeable for the particular substance,with amongst other things welded seams and seals in connection with theopenings required in order to put on the suit. A completely impermeablesuit offers maximum protection against chemical and biological exposure,but in practice this is very difficult to achieve as some leakages caneasily occur. A membrane suit of this kind also has limited breathingability and is therefore not particularly comfortable to use for lengthyperiods. It is more or less out of the question to wear this kind ofmembrane suit protection whilst undertaking physical activity. Amembrane suit will therefore be something to have as extra equipment,adding extra weight to a pack, and some time will also be required toput on such a membrane suit.

The second system is to employ an absorbent ply in the garment, wherethe function of the absorbent ply is to absorb most of the quantity ofbiological and chemical contaminants to which the person is exposed. Anabsorbent ply of this kind is relatively effective, but does not provideadequate protection as some of the contaminants will penetrate the ply.A material of this type is also relatively heavy. Solutions employing anabsorbent system are described, for example, in DE 3924034 where the useis described of an absorbent material as underwear under the uniform. InDE 3924033 the use is also described of an extra ply under the uniformsuch as, for example, a shirt in the form of an absorbent material.

Present day Norwegian protective equipment comprises an outeroil/water-repellent textile ply with relatively high through-flow of airand an inner absorbent ply secured to this ply.

These known solutions provide a relatively low level of protection bymeans of either a barrier of absorbent material or a barrier of membranematerial. A hole in the membrane material will be more harmful than ahole in the absorbent material, but both are inopportune. An adequateprotection with only an absorbent material also results in a relativelyheavy outer garment, while a membrane suit can be lighter but it in turnhas limited breathing capacity, thus being uncomfortable for the wearer.

The object of the present invention is to provide a garment whichrepresents an improvement in relation to the disadvantages of the priorart mentioned above.

The object of the present invention is to provide an outer garment whichgives adequate protection against chemical and biological exposure witha two-ply barrier system, while simultaneously providing a high degreeof comfort for the user of the garment, thus permitting the garment tobe employed as standard clothing for the user.

An object of the invention is to provide a garment which enables theuser very rapidly to achieve good protection from external chemical andbiological exposure, while at the same time the garment ismultifunctional.

An object is also to achieve a lighter garment which offers just as goodprotection as previous systems.

It is also an object to provide a garment which is perceived as a unit,where the desired protection is achieved without extra equipment. It isa further object to achieve a high degree of flexibility with thegarment regarding the degree of protection and ventilation capability,thus enabling the garment to be easily adapted to the risk concerned,the level of activity and other external factors.

Another object is to provide the flexibility to adapt the garment tooffer protection for different types of uses and hazards.

It is also an object to provide a simple garment for protection againstchemical and biological exposure, which is capable of providing goodventilation for the user.

The above-mentioned objects are achieved with an outer garment asindicated in the following claims.

The present invention comprises an outer garment for protection againstchemical and/or biological exposure. In particular, the presentinvention provides good protection against gas exposure. The inventionalso comprises a garment for protection against chemical and/orbiological exposure which offers the user good ventilation capability.

The garment consists of at least one outer and one inner separate plywhere the plies consist of one or more layers, which layer or ply mayhave different characteristics. The plies are releasably secured to eachother by fastening devices so that they are perceived to be a uniformouter garment. At least one of the outermost plies is in the form of amembrane material and at least one inner ply is in the form of anabsorbent material. Vents may be provided at a plurality of pointspassing through all the plies, where the vents are provided with closingdevices.

Due to the fact that the garment is produced in a two-ply barriersystem, most of the chemical and/or biological contaminants will berepelled by the membrane ply. Since there is an absorbent ply under themembrane ply, there will not be such a great need for impermeability inand round the membrane ply as is the case when only membrane isemployed. Any leaks in the membrane ply will be absorbed by theabsorbent ply. This gives the opportunity of adapting the garment toprovide a much greater degree of comfort, by, for example, insertingvents at desired points. The ability to have vents at desired pointsalso makes the garment much more flexible with regard to areas ofapplication.

The plies in the garment may consist of one or more layers, which mayhave one uniform or different types of characteristics. The plies mayhave outer covering layers and one or more intermediate active layers,where the active element may be absorbent or repellent in the form of amembrane. An outer active layer may also be envisaged with a rearsupport layer holding the active material together. The layers may bejoined together to form a unit of a laminate type or more looselyinterconnected, but forming a uniform ply.

The fact that the outer garment is produced in a two-ply barrier systemwith ventilation capability permits the garment to be manufactured moreeasily than a garment according to the prior art which provides the samedegree of protection.

The membrane material in the garment is preferably of aliquid-repellent, breathing material which repels chemical andbiological exposure to a desired degree. Depending on the risk, themembrane material may be a permeable membrane material where onlyliquids are repelled, a semi-permeable membrane material where liquidsand aerosols are repelled, a selective permeable membrane material wherespecial elements in addition to liquids and aerosols do not penetrate ora completely impermeable membrane material. The membrane may also beprovided as passive and/or active membrane, for example by means of anactive membrane material which can be supplied with energy or have aninbuilt energy potential. Such a membrane can act to a greater extent asan efficient selective membrane, i.e. unwanted particles are repelled orabsorbed. Only wanted particles such as air or water vapour pass throughthe membrane one way or the other, or both ways. Parts of the outer plymay also be envisaged made of an impermeable or selective membranematerial while other parts consist of a material which is morepermeable. The object of the membrane is to reduce the air velocity andto repel or prevent to the desired extent penetration of the chemicaland/or biological contaminants.

At least one of the plies contains an absorbent element and/or consistsof an absorbent material, which soaks up the chemical and/or biologicalcontaminants. By absorbent we mean from weak chemical to strong chemicalcompounds. The material contains an active substance which absorbs andbinds to itself the chemical and/or biological contaminants. The objectof such a material is to absorb the quantity of contaminants that slipthrough the outer membrane ply. Such materials are known to absorb anumber of different types of contaminants.

In a preferred embodiment the garment has two separate plies—an outermembrane ply and an inner absorbent ply. The two plies are releasablysecured to each other, thus forming a uniform unit. The plies aresecured to each other, for example, by zip fasteners beside a frontopening on the body and stud devices round the waist. Velcro or studdevices or other fastening means may also be envisaged at severalpoints, such as for example near the outer edge of sleeves and legs oralong a collar portion.

The inner ply of the outer garment is replaceable. This may, forexample, enable the garment to be adapted to suit the threat concernedor replace the absorbent material when it has reached saturation limitor is otherwise so worn that the degree of absorption is below aspecified acceptable value. The situation may also be envisaged wherethe outer ply has sustained wear and tear, thus making it advantageousto replace it.

According to the invention the garment may also be equipped with ventsadvantageously located and in numbers that allow the wearer of thegarment to experience as much comfort as possible. The vents passthrough all the plies and are equipped with closing devices. The closingdevices are arranged so that they can be closed separately, or several,or all can be interconnected.

In a preferred embodiment separate closing devices are provided for eachply in the garment. At a minimum there should be separate closingdevices for the ply with membrane function and the ply containing theabsorbent function. An embodiment may be envisaged where the garmentconsists of more than two plies and where a common closing device isprovided for two or more plies.

The fact that the garment has a plurality of closing devices permitsgood ventilation in those situations where the risk is minimal, whilethe vents can be closed very easily in order to achieve very goodprotection against chemical and biological exposure. The situation mayalso be envisaged where the closing devices for the outer ply areclosed, while an opening is kept for the inner ply, or alternativelythat the inner ply is closed while the outer one is open. The firstalternative provides good protection in cases where exposure exists in aliquid phase, while the second offers protection while providingrelatively good ventilation of the garment. Opening and closing thevents in this way provides the garment with a high degree of flexibilitywhich is not found in other solutions for protection against chemicaland biological exposure. This flexibility offers the possibility ofadapting the garment in a simple manner with regard to both risk and theactivity level of the user. This makes the garment suitable for useunder all conditions, thus enabling it to be employed as normal clothingand not as extra equipment.

In a preferred embodiment the vents for the garment are arranged alongthe front, under the arms, from the outer edge of legs and sleeves andsome distance inwards along sleeves and legs, and at the sides of thehips. Vents may also be envisaged in other places, such as on theoutside of the upper arm or beside the front opening. The latter may besuitable in cases where the front opening substantially has to beclosed, while at the same time the capability of ventilation isrequired.

Each vent for the garment is equipped with at least two closing devices.One closing device comprises a zip fastener and a flap which sealinglycovers the zip. The length of the flap corresponds at least to thelength of the zip. The flap is securely attached to the ply for the ventalong one longitudinal side of the zip. The flap may be releasablysecurable to the ply at the second longitudinal side of the zip, thusholding it sealingly over the zip. This sealing can be achieved, forexample, by a Velcro fastener. Sealing devices may also be envisaged atthe short sides of the zip. The closing devices for the vents may alsobe equipped with two-way zips, thus enabling, for example, vents at thelower edge of sleeves and legs to be held together at the lower edgewhile at the same time there is an opening further up along the vent.

In a preferred embodiment the garment is so designed so that the innerply has a separate drawstring at the waist for the inner ply. Researchhas shown that, in cases where the garment consists of trousers and ajacket, this results in less exposure of the skin to chemical andbiological contaminants. The flap is also provided with an extra widthat the neck portion for overlap of the zip.

The outer garment consists in the preferred embodiment of severalseparate parts such as a jacket and trousers, and may also consist ofbraces, shoes and mittens. The outer garment will also be adapted withsealing devices at the end openings of the garment. The sealing deviceis intended to prevent as far as possible the biological and/or chemicalcontaminants from penetrating the openings of the garment. Protectionmay also be envisaged for the outer extremities with a garmentcorresponding to the invention.

All the parts of the garment can be adapted with reinforcements in someportions or extra parts may be applied in the form of more absorbentmaterial, less permeable membrane material or with extra reinforcementsin or applied to the plies. Additional reinforcements may, for example,be an overlay material, usually at the knees and elbows. The plies mayalso be envisaged provided with parts with inbuilt or added elasticity,for example this may be envisaged for the inner absorbent ply in thearea round the opening of the hood as a replacement for or in additionto a drawstring.

With regard to the various plies and their characteristics, it ispossible to envisage other combinations of the plies, such as, forexample, an insulating ply when the garment is to be used in cold areas,or that the insulation is a part of the inner ply. Another alternativeis for the outer ply in addition to having the membrane function to alsoprovide fire protection. There are countless other possiblecombinations, which may be permanently or temporarily applied to theouter garment. The individual plies may also be envisaged employedseparately.

The drawstring and/or straps round all the openings or in the waist ofthe garment may be entirely or partially elastic. There will also be asmentioned before sealing devices at openings of the garment atextremities. The garment may also be equipped with alternative extraequipment such as, for example, sensors that detect and signal risk ofbiological and/or chemical exposure.

A garment according to the invention has several uses, one of the mostobvious being as part of or form a uniform, either in the military fieldor also in the field of other uniformed professions such as the police,fire service or other activities where there is a need for a garmentwith protection against chemical and/or biological exposure. Theinvention also has an application as part of emergency equipment forcivilian personnel and private persons. An example in this category ispersons working with chemicals.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to theattached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the principle of absorbent material in the prior art,

FIG. 2 illustrates the principle of membrane material in the prior art,

FIG. 3 illustrates the principle of the present invention,

FIGS. 4A-D are cross sectional views of a vent where the principle ofseparate closing of vents in one or more plies of the outer garment isillustrated.

FIG. 5 is a principle drawing of a complete garment according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a view of a vent.

FIG. 7 is a view of parts of the front opening in the outer garment.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 the previously employed principles of either absorptionor membrane as protection against chemical and/or biological exposureare illustrated. The chemical and/or biological exposure is illustratedby thicker arrows marked CB. In this illustration, the ply containingthe absorption material for absorbing the chemical and/or biologicalexposure comprises an outer top layer x and an absorption layer y.Unlike the chemical and/or biological contaminants, air indicated by thearrow a will be able to penetrate the absorption ply and water vapourindicated by arrows m from the person's skin S will substantiallypenetrate, but some may also be absorbed by the absorption ply.

The solution will be different for the membrane, depending on the typeof membrane. In the situation illustrated in FIG. 2, the membrane plyconsists of three layers, i, ii and v. The chemical and/or biologicalcontaminants CB are repelled by the membrane ply, while air indicated byarrow a can pass through. Water vapour m from the person's skin S willpartially penetrate and partially be repelled by the membrane ply.

In the present invention as illustrated in FIG. 3, a double barrier isemployed. The outer garment comprises a ply 2 of two-layer membranematerial and an inner ply 3 of an absorbent material. Any chemicaland/or biological exposure illustrated by arrows marked CB will largelybe repelled as indicated by arrow CB₁ and where the membrane ply is notcompletely impervious, the chemical and/or biological contaminants willbe absorbed in the absorbent ply as indicated by arrow CB₂ whichpenetrates a hole in the membrane ply. Air a and water vapour m from theperson's skin S will be able to penetrate the different plies in theouter garment.

As illustrated in principle drawings in FIGS. 4A-D, the vents 9 for eachply in the garment can be equipped with separate closing devices 10. Foran outer garment according to the invention there will be at least twoseparate closing devices 10 for each through-going vent 9. In the crosssectional views in FIGS. 4A-D, the membrane ply 2 and the absorbent ply3 each have a closing device 10 over the vent 9, each closing device 10also including an overlying flap 11. For the absorbent ply 3 the flap 11is preferably provided with a not shown Velcro fastener, while themembrane ply 2 may have not shown press studs. In FIG. 4A a situation isillustrated where the vent is closed for both plies in the outergarment, in FIG. 4B the closing device in the membrane ply 2 is openwhile the absorbent ply is kept closed. This may be for cases wherethere is only a minor threat of gas and it is hot. In FIG. 4C we havethe opposite situation where the absorbent ply is kept open and themembrane ply closed. This may be for cases where there is a liquidthreat or it is desirable for the membrane to be more windproof. FIG. 4Dillustrates a situation where the vent 9 passes through both themembrane ply 2 and the absorbent ply 3.

In FIG. 5 an embodiment of the invention is illustrated as a uniformconsisting of a jacket 4, trousers 5 and mittens. All the elements inthe outer garment are provided according to the invention with an outermembrane ply 2 and an inner absorbent ply 3.

There are vents 9 right in the central front part of the jacket, underthe arms and extending from the outer edge and some distance up alongthe sleeve. The vent 9 in the central front part of the neck portion ofthe jacket 4 is equipped with a flap 11 of greater width. The jacket hasa hood where the outer ply can be folded up and stored in a compartmentin the outer ply's neck portion. The hood is also equipped with sealingdevices 13 against a respiratory and/or face protector 7. The hood mayalso have a not shown brim for additional protection against rain, etc.At the lower edge and at the waist, the jacket has separate drawstringsfor both plies of the garment.

The outer garment further comprises trousers 5. The outer ply isreleasably secured in a not shown manner to the inner ply by fasteningdevices in the waist portion. The trousers may be provided with braces.The trousers 5 at the central front part may have vents 9 (not shown)from the lower edge and some distance up along the legs and at the sideof the hip (not shown). In an embodiment the vents 9 which extend fromthe lower edge of the legs may extend upwards to a point above the kneeportion of the trousers, or all the way to the waist.

In an embodiment stiffeners may be inserted in the edges of the vents,thus ensuring that in an open condition the vent remains in an openposition.

FIG. 6 is a detail drawing of a vent, for example in an edge of a leg orsleeve. The garment has two plies—an outer membrane ply 2 and an innerabsorbent ply 3. For each ply separate closing devices 10 are provided,with zip fasteners and overlapping flaps. The opening of the garment isalso provided with a sealing device in the form of a drawstring 12.

FIG. 7 is a detail drawing of the central vent in the central front partof a jacket 4. The jacket 4 has an inner absorbent ply 3 and an outermembrane ply 2. In addition to the central opening, the jacket has vents9 as indicated at the lower edge of the sleeves and under the arms. Thevents have closing devices 10 in the form of zip fasteners with coveringflaps. In this embodiment the overlapping flaps are provided with Velcrofasteners to ensure that the flap is held sealingly over the zip in theclosing device. In the neck portion of the jacket the flap in theclosing device has been made wider. The outer membrane ply 2 is attachedto the inner absorbent ply 3 by fastening devices 15 in the form of zipfasteners. The jacket also has a hood with an inner absorbent ply and anouter membrane ply. In the illustration in FIG. 7 the inner absorbentply is closed with the hood arranged closingly around the head, whilethe closing devices for the outer membrane ply are kept open and thehood ply is arranged folded up in the outer ply's neck portion.

The present invention has now been described by an embodiment, in whichthe garment consists of jacket, trousers and mittens. A number of othervariations may be envisaged within the scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims. The jacket and trousers may be providedwith integrated hands and feet. Footwear may also be envisaged designedaccording to the same principle, but preferably with substantialreinforcements in the sole portion. The trousers might be provided withbraces. There may be a number of plies or layers in the uniform outergarment to serve different purposes. A ply or layer may also beenvisaged in the garment to protect against radioactivity, heat, cold,etc. The sealing devices at the garment openings may be envisaged to beof such a nature that a slight overpressure can be built up within theouter garment, thus providing an extra guarantee against leakage intowards the skin. A variant of the present invention is to manufacturethe outer garment with an all-enveloping hood, in which can be providedan internal oxygen supply. This all-enveloping hood may also be providedwith a portion of transparent material.

1. An outer garment for protection against chemical and/or biologicalexposure comprising at least an outer and an inner separate ply, wherethe plies consist of one or more layers which may have differentcharacteristics, where at least one layer of the outer ply is in theform of a membrane material and at least one layer of the inner ply isin the form of an absorbent material and that the outer garmentcomprises sealing devices against extremities, characterised in that thegarment has several vents which pass through all the plies, where thevents are equipped with separate closing devices for each ply and/orcombination of plies, the vents are at least arranged in an upper and alower portion of the outer garment, that the outer garment consists ofat least two separate parts, a jacket element and a trousers element,that the garment's jacket element includes a drawstring at a lower edgeand that the jacket's inner ply is provided with its own separatedrawstring in the waist region, and that the outer and the inner pliesof the garment are releasably secured to each other by fastening devicesso that they are perceived as a uniform outer garment.
 2. An outergarment according to one of the above-mentioned claims, characterised inthat the inner absorbent ply is replaceable.
 3. An outer garmentaccording to one of the above-mentioned claims, characterised in thatthe closing devices comprise for each ply a zip fastener, a flap whoselength at least corresponds to the length of the zip and whose width isgreater than the width of the zip, where the flap is securely connectedalong one longitudinal side to the ply and that the flap at the oppositeside is equipped with a sealing device which cooperates with acorresponding sealing device arranged on the other side of the zip. 4.An outer garment according to one of the above-mentioned claims,characterised in that the separate plies can be used separately.
 5. Anouter garment according to one of the above-mentioned claims,characterised in that the trousers element includes vents in the centralfront part, from the lower edge and some distance up along the legs andat the side of the hip, and that the jacket element includes vents inthe central front part, under the arms and extending from the outer edgeand some distance up along the sleeves.
 6. An outer garment according toone of the claims 3 or 5, characterised in that vent in the centralfront part of the neck portion of the jacket element is equipped with aflap of greater width.
 7. An outer garment according to claim 5,characterised in that the vents extending from the lower edge of thelegs extend upwards to a point above the knee portion of the trousers orall the way up to the waistband.
 8. An outer garment according to one ofthe above-mentioned claims, characterised in that the jacket elementincludes a hood of at least one outer ply of membrane material and a plyof absorbent material where the outer ply can be folded up and stored ina compartment in the outer ply's neck portion, and the hood is alsoequipped with sealing devices against a respiratory and/or faceprotector.
 9. An outer garment according to one of the above-mentionedclaims, characterised in that the outer ply in the jacket element isreleasably secured to the inner ply by at least zip fasteners at the twosides of the vent in the central front part, and that the length of thezip fasteners is shorter than the length of the vent.
 10. An outergarment according to one of the above-mentioned claims, characterised inthat the outer ply of the trousers element is releasably secured to theinner ply by fastening devices in the waist portion.
 11. The use of anouter garment according to one of the claims 1-10 as part of a uniform.12. The use of an outer garment according to one of the claims 1-10 aspart of emergency equipment for civilian personnel or private persons.